I currently have a single instance azure VM with one OS disk and one data disk. I'm running it with a reserved public IP.
Adding a 2nd VM in an availability set isn't an option as I'm hosting an off the shelf software package that doesn't lend itself to that architecture.
I can take a bit of downtime - i don't need high availability however I want an optimized restore process.
Every week I run a powershell script that takes the VM down, and snapshots the OS and data disks with a timestamp. I have a different process to backup actual data.
In the event that the VM fails or becomes corrupted (Azure VM random reboots anyone?), I'm leaning towards two scenarios
- delete the VM and create a new VM using the same reserved IP (will it let me?) and attach os and data disks from a previous snapshot.
OR
- create a deprovisioned mirror VM image with a different reserved IP. in the event of a failure, i bring it online and attach os and data disks from a previous snapshot. Then I change DNS to route to the new machine.
OR would it be possible to keep a deprovisioned VM at all times with a previous set of disks attached using the same reserved IP - that way if the main primary VM goes down, I can just bring this one up and be on my way?